New Beginnings
by K.J.fanfiction
Summary: What of The Hunger Games took place in modern day California? This story focuses on some of the main characters from Catching Fire such as Peeta, Katniss, Gale, Johanna, Annie, Finnick, ect. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**This is officially our 2nd fan fic! Again we won't require reviews for our stories, but they're always helpful. FYI if there are any spelling errors my bad, I'm normally really picky about that kind of stuff. HOPE YOU ENJOY!**

Chapter1:

My name's Peeta Mellark, I live in Southern California in a small beach house which is surrounded by "city life." I work in a bakery and have a small group of friends who love the fact that they can get free cupcakes whenever their hearts desire. The gang consists of Johanna Mason, Finnick Odair, Annie Cresta, and Gale Hawthorne.

6 MONTHS AGO:

I walk up to my girlfriend Katniss Everdeen's door with a bouquet of white roses in my hand. I lightly knock on the door and she quickly opens it and looks at me with a sympathetic look in her eyes. I am immediately confused because she's wearing sweat pants and an old tshirt when she's knows tonight I'm taking her out to a fancy dinner. "Babe you know I love the whole sweat pants look, and I think you look beautiful either way but don't you think that a dress would be more appropriate?" I suggest. "Uh yeah about that big date..." She trails off. "Are you feeling okay hun?" I ask concerned. "Yes, I feel fine but Peeta I think we need to break up." I'm shocked, I mean just today she seemed totally normal. "Kat, did I do something wrong?" I ask frantically. "No Peeta it's nothing you did..." She trails off again. "There's another guy isn't there?" I ask firmly. I'm normally not this harsh but I can tell by the look in her eyes that she feels some type of guilt. She looks at the ground avoiding my eyes. "Well Katniss you really had me fooled." I say emotionless. With that I turn and leave. She tries to call after me but I completely ignore her.

TODAY:

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing, so I clumsily fumble around my night stand for my cell phone. "Hello?" I say, yawning. "Hey Pete! Get up we're goin' down to the beach!" Johanna says in her loud voice. Johanna has to be the single craziest person I know. "Ok ok I'm up now who is we?" I ask. "Uh the gang, duh now hurry up and meet us at our spot." She says annoyed. "Ok I'll be there in a few, bye." I say as I pull on a white tshirt and neon green swim trunks. She hangs up the phone and I slip on flip flops and grab my house keys and an extra pair of shorts. As I leave I make sure to lock my house behind me. I jog around my house to the beach that sits directly behind it. Soon I see the gang goofing around on the beach near the ocean.

"Finally we thought you died!" Johanna yells as she sees me approaching. I give her a look and laugh. "Hey Peety I see that beauty sleep really paid off." Finnick adds. "Thank you Finnick." I say sarcastically. "So are we gonna swim or not?" I finally ask. They all nod and quickly remove their shirts and cover ups. We all run towards the water trying to out run each other. Once we're about 6 feet deep we start to throw the frisby Gale provided. "Is that all you got Mellark?" Gale says as I totally miss him. I shrug and continue throwing the frisby until we've had enough. We walk back to the beach and agree we've swallowed at least 10 gallons of salt water.

Finnick immediately throws hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill and we all sit at the picnic table complaining about how long he's taking. "Well seeing as how we've been sitting here for about 200 years bored out of our minds I'm going swimming, anyone care to join me?" Johanna asks. "Jo we just took off our bathing suits." I say. She simply shrugs and removes the cover up she was wearing leaving her completely naked. Annie jumps to her feet covering Finnick's eyes and he just laughs at his girlfriend's dramatic act. "Nice Johanna." Annie says annoyed. Me and Gale can't help but stare. Apparently Johanna likes to be naked in public because the first time Finnick and I met her was in an elevator to his apartment where she removed ALL of her clothing out nowhere.

"You have fun with that Jo, but if the food is ready while you're in the water there's no way any of us are going to get you." Finnick says, eyes still covered. "I'm not going to be gone THAT long." She replies and we all laugh. Finnick mutters something under his breath and continues cooking. Later that afternoon, when we've all finished our food and are watching the waves run over the shore, I ask if anybody's up for a movie at the retro drive in we always goto but everyone refuses except for Jo, so I tell her I'll pick her up at her house at 7:00. Soon we all head home and make plans for the day after tomorrow. I walk Jo to her car and tell her I'll see her at 7:00, I walk home soon after.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, this chapter is shorter than the first, but if you want I'll post longer ones! Hope you guys like it. Ask questions when you're confused and I'll be happy to answer all of them! ENJOY 3**

Chapter 2-

I take a quick shower and slip on a pair of dark wash jeans, a plain white tshirt, and a leather jacket. I walk downstairs and glance at the clock which reads 6:45. "Time to get Jo" I think to myself as I slip on my Vans and grab the keys to my car. I walk down my driveway to my metallic blue Jeep. Once I've pulled up to Johanna's driveway I open the door until I see her coming out the door, she's wearing skinny jeans, tall brown boots, and a Ramones tshirt. Her long reddish brown hair is straightened to perfection. "Hey Jo, lookin' good." I say to her as she opens the passenger side door. "Thanks Pete, you're not lookin' too bad yourself." She replies. I lightly chuckle and shake my head. I back out of her driveway and she turns on the radio which is playing her favorite song Stereo Hearts, she sings along and dances in her seat which makes me laugh even more.

We arrive at the drive-in, which as always is playing some 80's movie which tonight is Back To the Future. I find a place to park and leave to get snacks from the concession stand. I buy a large coke and an order of nachos. When I return to the car she sees I have food and her face immediately brightens. "Wow Jo that's the look only nachos can bring out of you." I joke. "Shut up!" She says defensively, knowing I'm right. We watch the movie and Jo finishes off the nachos and I drink most of the coke. Where we're finished I have an idea. "Hey Jo wanna go somewhere?" I ask "Sure, where?" She asks. "You'll see." I answer and she rolls her eyes.

I make her put on a blind fold so she's surprised when we arrive. I drive for several minutes until we reach my favorite beach, La Jolla Cove. I park the car and lead Jo by the hand to the beach. I gently remove her blindfold and she is immediately captivated by the beautiful sunset. "Woah." She says while she's staring at the shore line. "You like it?" I ask her. "Peeta it's beautiful." She answered, amazed. "Gees Jo, I never knew you were such a softie." I say sarcastically. She gives me a dirty look and soon returns to staring. "I like to come out here and paint on the weekends." I say softly. She nods and I take her hand in mine and lead her up towards the field of flowers that rests directly above the sand. "I wonder why there are flowers up here it's sorta weird huh?" I say breaking the silence. She nods her head. I know I said that Johanna was totally insane which I'm not denying and she's obviously not your average girly girl but sometimes (rarely) you can bring out her sensitive side of her. She motions towards the beach so we walk over to the sand and sit down next to each other, admiring the sunset. Soon I look over and find her staring at me. I look over to her and meet her striking green eyes.

She leans towards me obviously seeking a kiss, I immediately comply and put my hand on her cheek delicately. We lightly kiss and as soon as we pull apart I find myself wanting to kiss her soft lips once more. I ignore this desire because she leans her head on my shoulder and I wrap my arm protectively around her. About a half hour later I look to her and see she is seconds away from falling asleep so I remove my jacket, put it around her, pick her up bridal style, and carry her to my car.

Once we're to the Jeep I open her door and put her in the seat, fastening her seat belt before I close the door. I get in the drivers side and start driving. When I'm about half way to her house I look over to see her looking up at me. "What is it?" I ask quietly. "Nothin' I'm just looking at my new boyfriend." She says sleepily. This thought brings a smile to my face and the first thought that comes to my mind is: "Johanna Mason is my girlfriend this could be the most unlikely couple in the world."


	3. Chapter 3

**Totally un-related to the story, but as soon as you ask questions or want clarification, I'll post the answer at the beginning of the chapter in an authors note and I'll include your username too. Anyways ENJOY 3**

Chapter 3-

"Hey Pete?" She asks quietly. "Yeah Jo?" I answer. "Is it ok if I stay at your place tonight my roommate is throwing a party and I sorta just wanna go to sleep." She says shyly. "Of course" I say softly. I turn the car around and head towards my place.

Soon we're there and I get out of the car telling her to wait. I walk around to her side and open the door for her offering my hand to her. She holds her arms out silently begging me to carry her, she puts on her best puppy dogs face. I dramatically sigh and roll my eyes but take her in my arms and walk her up to my house. "Thanks Peety." She whispers. "Any time Jo." I tell her softly. Once we're inside I carry her upstairs and ask if she wants to stay in the guest bedroom and she simply shakes her head. I tuck her into bed, put my PJ's on, and soon join her. As soon as she realizes I'm there she comes over to me and lays her head on my chest. I wrap my arms around her and we drift to sleep.

We wake up ant roughly the same time and a huge smile spreads across when I see her. "Good morning." I say to her. "Mornin'" she says. "How'd you sleep?" I ask. "Amazing, it was nice having you here." She says happily. "My thoughts exactly." I say with a smile. I give her a light peck on the lips and we both get ready. I wear a pair of cargo shorts that go down to right above my knees, a simple band tshirt, and lace less Vans. I offer to take Jo by her house before we meet the gang but she refuses and just borrows one of my smaller shirts, matching it with her outfit of the previous night.

I walk down stairs behind her, "how bout you whip us up some breakfast?" She asks as she sits down at one of the barstools that accompanies a counter that lines my kitchen. "Sure." I say. I quickly scramble eggs, fry bacon, and make bread for us to eat. "Annie says she wants us to meet someone." Jo says as she rapidly texts on her iPhone. "Who?" I ask. She pauses to ask and reads Annie's response, "she says it's a surprise." She answers annoyed. "Well we all know how much you love surprises." I say sarcastically. "Very funny." She says. "Okay so where are we meeting this mystery person?" I ask as I bring over the 2 plates. "She said to meet them at the park." She responds as she begins to eat her breakfast. I nod and we finish our food and head out the door.

After driving for several minutes, talking and laughing the whole way, we arrive at the park. Obviously there are tons of parks in the San Diego area, but this one is so near all of our houses we like to hang out here. I open Jo's door for her and we walk hand and hand to meet the others. "How do you think they'll react when we tell them we're an item?" I ask. "Well, I think that it'll come as a shock to all of them to say the least." She says with a smile.

As we approach the first thing I notice is a girl with brown hair who's turned around talking to Annie. "Why are you guys holding hands?" Annie says when we are feet away from her. We look at each other and start cracking up. "Wait, are you guys like together?" She says totally shocked. This makes us laugh even harder. "Finnick! Jo and Peeta are dating!" Annie screams to her boyfriend. "What?! Are you being serious!" He yells. "Well duh we're serious, breadboy here finally made a move!" Jo explains "Finally? Does that mean you liked me before last night?" I ask completely curious. "Shut up!" She says defensively. This makes us all laugh. That's when I finally look to the girl with brown hair, she's turned around and I recognize her. It's Katniss Everdeen.


	4. Chapter 4

**OMG thank you guys for the reviews and follows. A few people suggested I make it a "Finniss" which I had never really thought of, but thank you it's a great suggestion and I'll most likely do that but ya never know ;) ALSO sorry it took so long to update. hope y'all enjoy!**

Chapter 4-

A wave of painful memories sweep over me as I think of her betrayal. Her eyes immediately widen as she sees me and I'm guessing my expression mirrors her's. "Uh Katniss, what are you doing here, I mean how do you know Annie?" I stammer. "We went to college together, hey how do you already know her name?" Annie asks. Before Katniss can tell the truth I blurt out, "We were friends back in high school!" She gives me a confused look but I completely ignore it. "Oh." Annie says disappointed she didn't get to introduce us. Later we have a picnic and the whole time, I'm thinking about how unlucky I am to be here right now, "of all people." I think and feel sorry for myself. Suddenly Johanna lightly kisses me bringing me back from me zoned out state. My eyes widen in surprise and I almost fall backwards out of shock. "What are you thinkin' about." She asks me. "Um nothing." I say not convincingly. She simply shrugs it off and soon as we're finished eating everybody heads off to go on a walk except for Katniss and I who are put on cleanup duty. Together.

"Peeta why did you lie about us dating?" She asks me as soon as our friends are out of sight. "Look Katniss, I didn't want to make a scene by ranting on about how you cheated on me." I say irritated. I immediately regret saying this, it was way to harsh. She looks away guiltily. "Oh." She says. "Johanna seems nice." She says trying to change the subject. "She is." I simply say happily. "Um I was thinking that we could have coffee later on." She says. I'm no idiot so I understand what she's trying to do. "Katniss" I start. "Look I just wanna buy you coffee it's the least I can do." She says, not letting me continue my previous argument. "Ok I'll get coffee with you." I say. "Ok, should I pick you up later on tonight?" She asks "How's 7?" I ask quickly wanting to talk to Jo. She nods her head, I give her my address, and she turns to leave.

I walk to my car with Jo, dreading the topic I have to bring up. "Hey Jo" I say nervously as we approach my car. "Yeah Pete, what's up?" She asks. "You know how I said Katniss and I went to high school together?" I ask. She nods. "Well I sorta lied." I admit. She doesn't look surprised. "I thought you were kinda acting a little standoffish. So how do you really know Katniss?" She asks. "Uh, um we sorta used to date." I say quietly. To my surprise she laughs. "Seriously? I mean she's a great girl and everything but she doesn't really seem like she's your type." She says. "And what's my type?" I ask mocking her. "Uh awesomeness like me." She answers dramatically, motioning towards herself. We laugh at this. "So how did y'all break up?" She asks. "Um, well one night I went to pick her up for a date at this fancy cafe and when I get there she was wearing sweat pants so I asked and she told me we needed to break up. Ater that I asked what I did wrong and she said it wasn't me then she got this guilty look on her face." I pause as the painful memory hits me with full force. "And I could tell she'd been seeing someone else, just by the look on her face. I left and haven't spoken since." I finish quietly.

Johanna is quiet for a minute. "Are you still in love with her?" She asks nervously. "Of course not! She stabbed me in the back and I hate what she put me through, could you ever love a man after you found out he'd been cheating on you?" I ask trying to convince her. "No I guess not, I'm sorry Peeta, it's just..." I cut her off mid sentence. "No apology necessary." I say gently to her. "How bout we go and get a cupcake?" I ask, knowing how much my cupcakes brighten her day. "I'm done with that." She says excitedly. I lead her to my car.

As I'm driving I quickly glance at my watch, simply out of curiosity. Crap, it's 5:45. I have to leave with Katniss pretty soon. Now I really don't want to tell Johanna I'm going on a date with my ex. "Hey Jo, I hate to do this but I sorta promised Katniss I'd have coffee with her tonight." I say. "Ok what time?" She asks casually. "Um 7:00, you seen to be taking this amazingly well, not that you're a spaz or anything but I don't know how I'd feel if you were going on a date with one of your ex's." I say surprised. "Well I'm perfectly fine with it unless it turns into more than 2 exes having coffee together. Peeta I completely trust you not to cheat on me especially since you know how it feels." She says completely serious. "You're are officially the best girlfriend ever." I say. "I know." She says; I lean in and lightly kiss her on the lips.

7:00 comes faster than either of us anticipated; before we know it, it's 6:50. "Do you have to leave, I know I said it was fine, but all I wanna do is watch a movie with my boyfriend." She says in anguish. "I know, me too, but I think Katniss really does feel guilty about what she did and this is a small form of compensation for her." I answer. "Compensation? Why does she out of all people need compensation! She is the one who totally betrayed you like a little..." I cut her off imagining what she's about to say. "Jo, what I meant is it's her way of getting closure, maybe she's trying to see if I'm truly alright. She said, just let me buy you coffee it's the least I could do." I explain. "Fine but I don't know what kind of freak wants to get coffee at night." She says still aggravated. "I solemnly promise I, Peeta Mellark will be home before 8:30, okay?" I ask trying to comfort her. "Ok." She agrees. As if on cue the door bell rings and we both roll our eyes. I kiss her as I walk to the door and repeat my promise.

I open the door and Katniss is standing there with perfect makeup, a tight strapless mini dress, and 6 inch heels that I'm surprised don't break her ankle as she was walking to the door. "You look nice." I say, trying to hide my uncomfortableness. The only reason I say I'm uncomfortable is because, first her dress could easily pass off as a shirt, second she clearly stated her intentions for this date earlier that day and her dress says she doesn't just want to clear her conscious or whatever, and third I have a girlfriend. "Thank you." She says, in a seductive purr. "Shall we go?" She asks in the same tone. "Sure." I say.

We drive for a few minutes until we arrive at a somewhat familiar area. "Hey I've been here before!" I exclaim trying to recall the place. "I know my house is just down the street, you must have driven by it a hundred times while we were dating." She says. "Oh that's right." I respond. We pull into the parking lot of a coffee house and we get out. As we walk through the door Katniss gets some odd stares, due to her attire. She leads me to the bar where you can see employees preparing drinks. "What are you going to get?" She asks. "Probably just a black coffee." I say as I study the menu of unfamiliar drinks. She nods.

"Do you go here often?" I ask, trying to make conversation. "No, but I thought it would be nice." She says in a slow breathy voice. Katniss is a nice person and everything but the dress, heels, and the voices is a little much. A woman with an apron approaches "What can I get you guys?" She says politely. "I'll get a black coffee." I say. "I'll get a soy latte." She says shortly after. Soon she brings our drinks out. "So do you maybe want to come back to my place?" She says in a quiet voice

**Sorry guys, I know it's sort of a random place to stop but I was in a rush to post the chapter, I'll try to post chap. 5 ASAP! Hope you liked chapter 4. As always if you have any questions or comments feel free to write reviews (they're greatly appreciated!)**


End file.
